ability to conduct operations outside australia . this successful deployment was the first time a large australian military force had operated outside of australia since the vietnam war and revealed short ##coming ##s in the ad ##f ' s ability to mount and sustain such operations . in response , the 2000 defence white paper placed a greater emphasis on preparing the ad ##f for overseas deployment ##s . the australian government committed to improve the ad ##f ' s capabilities by improving the readiness and equipment of ad ##f units , expanding the ad ##f to 57 @ , @ 000 full @ - @ time personnel and increasing real defence expenditure by 3 % per year . in may 2006 , 2 @ , @ 000
ability to conduct operations outside australia. this successful deployment was the first time a large australian military force had operated outside of australia since the vietnam war and revealed shortcomings in the adf's ability to mount and sustain such operations. in response, the 2000 defence white paper placed a greater emphasis on preparing the adf for overseas deployments. the australian government committed to improve the adf's capabilities by improving the readiness and equipment of adf units, expanding the adf to 57 @, @ 000 full @ - @ time personnel and increasing real defence expenditure by 3 % per year. in may 2006, 2 @, @ 000